He is still travelling in a private executive jet, but has a population at home of 90% walking barefoot.

Yet this Excellency may be trying to compete with Reagan and Golbachev to show that he, too, is an Excellency"

This is a verbatim extract of the speech Mr Museveni made on the steps of Uganda Parliament, after being sworn in as president on 26th Jan 1986.

Mr Museveni has just arrived in New York for this year's (2016) United Nations General Assembly meeting in the latest model of Gulf Stream 5 Executive Presidential Jet. This is more than 30 years when he made that speech!

Not only has he left home a barefoot population, but some are dying of hunger! 84% youth are unemployed; 19 women are dying, needlessly, in childbirth daily; young doctors (interns) are on strike because they aren't paid; an epidemic of jiggers looms in parts of the country; 75% children drop out of primary schools due to pathetic state of education standards etc, etc.

In 1986, I, too, stood at the stairs of parliament as Mr M7 swore-in as president and made that speech. Back then, we were found of saying, rightly, that shame is a revolutionary sentiment.

I'll not just be ashamed at having been a part of the "pathetic spectacle" that we continue to witness, I'll not rest until it's overcome. That's the least that I can do.

The exensive

Internet Revolution should get cheaper for the African poor citizens on the African continent:

SUNDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2015

BY INDEPENDENT REPORTER

December 4. 2016 INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA

Cost of unlimited Internet access in Kampala could drop to as low as Shs 1,000 a day

Only a small fraction of Ugandans is connected to the Internet, with the vast majority losing out on the immense opportunities that the Internet is providing to billions of people worldwide.

Currently, the total number of internet users in Uganda is estimated at just over 6.8 million in a population of about 40 million. Compared with the voice penetration of 53%, data penetration is still very low at just 25%, according to data from the Uganda Communications Commission.

The poor accessibility rates are mainly attributed to high cost and poor network coverage. However, this is now bound to change for the better after technology giant Google launched Project Link in Uganda to bring faster and world-class Internet services.

Following the successful completion of a metro fiber network in Kampala city, the company has launched a Wi-Fi ‘hotzone’ network to improve the quality and affordability of wireless access, geared towards meeting the bandwidth demands of Kampala’s growing number of smart phone owners. In partnership with Roke Telecom, more than 100 hotzones, dubbed ‘Rokespots,’ have been launched around Kampala where users can access affordable and high speed mobile internet connections.

In recent years, telecom giants MTN Uganda, Airtel, Smile telecom, Africell and Vodafone have also invested heavily in setting up 4G infrastructure. MTN Uganda in particular has already unveiled its extensive 4G network countrywide, extending the latest broadband technology to major towns – totaling more than 75 4G network sites, in addition to thousands of 2G and 3G.

Google is also venturing into providing wholesale last-mile Wi-Fi access with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) like MTN to leverage on its fibre infrastructure to bring high-quality Wi-Fi to homeowners, small businesses and mobile users on-the-go.

Speaking at the launch on Dec.03, 2015, Roke Telkom officials said the initiative is helping to connect more people to fast and affordable broadband Internet.

The Wi-Fi hotzone network is helping to equip MNOs and ISPs with shared infrastructure that they desperate need to deliver improved services to end users. Ela Beres, who heads the Wi-Fi effort, said with the help of Project Link’s new Wi-Fi hotzone network, ISPs around Kampala would have access to shared infrastructure that can help them enhance their Wi-Fi services and meet the bandwidth needs of the city dwellers. He added that local providers can use the new network to bring Wi-Fi to people on-the-go in the city’s busiest locations such as the taxi parks, hostels, shopping malls, pubs, restaurants and arcades.

Roger Sekaziga, the Roke Telkcom CEO, said Uganda has lately experienced phenomenal growth in demand for Internet, fuelled by the advent of low-cost smart phones.

“Project Link’s Wi-Fi network allows us to deliver cheaper and more reliable Wi-Fi service to a quickly-growing, often underserved market segment,” he added. To owners of the facilities, cheap high speed internet offers more opportunities for customers. The service has different price categories, ranging from Shs 1,000 per day to Shs 18,000 per month.

Officials said going forward, the company plans to install wifi on all public transport vehicles. For Roke Telkom, which has been in operation for over ten years, the partnership with Google to implement Project Link could give it a big headway in the data market place. Google, which started as a search engine over two decades ago, has over the years emerged as a global technology giant. Its push in developing countries has seen it test out innovative ways of ameliorating connectivity challenges. With the introduction of 3G and LTE networks, the company is targeting to provide the ‘last-mile’ link to connect remote locations to the fiber networks that connect countries and whole continents.

Since Uganda was connected to the sea cables seven years ago, prices of international bandwidth have fallen compared to the last decade, but the retail tariffs of broadband have remained relatively out of reach for millions of potential internet users.

But as mobile phone devices evolve thus giving consumers various services beyond voice and text messages, data has over time become a key frontier for telecom companies as consumers take advantage of cheaper means of communication over more convenient social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and to deliver audio, video, and other media content over the Internet.

On a wider scale, the implementers of Project Link see it as causing a revolution in how whole industries and sectors operate and how services are provided to the citizens.- See more at: http://www.

independent.co.ug

Nb

Poor African governments seem to find it as a way of collecting easy money as tax from this technology.

Milking the cow without giving it pasture.

Ongwen, the Freedom fighter or The modern African Liberation bush fighter. His trial now is under the I.C.Court. This European Court of universal human rights has named three judges to preside over this African case.

Mr Ongwen of the Acholi tribe of Northern Uganda.

By Yasiin Mugerwa

Posted Thursday, January 22 2015

Kampala, Uganda-

A day after Dominic Ongwen, a top Christian-Catholic LRA commander, was transferred to The Hague to face charges for a variety of war crimes, the International Criminal Court named three high profile judges to handle his trial.

The ICC presidency yesterday named a Bulgarian judge with a decade-long experience in international criminal law, a Belgian judge with a background in international and comparative criminal law, and an experienced Italian prosecutor to form a three-person coram.

Daily Monitor understands that one of the Judges (Trendafilova) was the Presiding Judge in the previous proceedings in the situations of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the neighbouring Kenya; the Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo and the Prosecutor v. William Ruto et al, respectively.

The government this week announced that international lawyers had approached it showing interest to represent Ongwen, who recently surrendered to the American troops in Central African Republic.

ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda yesterday said in a statement, Ongwen’s transfer to The Hague brings the court one step closer to ending the LRA’s reign of terror in the African Great Lakes region.

She said the LRA has reportedly killed tens of thousands and displaced millions of people, terrorised civilians, abducted children and forced them to kill and serve as sex slaves. They have hacked off limbs and horribly disfigured men, women and children.

“My investigation demonstrates that Dominic Ongwen served as a high ranking commander within the LRA and that he is amongst those who bear the greatest responsibility for crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC,” Ms Fatou Bensouda stated.

She added: “I urge all others [rebels] that still remain within LRA ranks to abandon violence; stop committing crimes, and follow the bold steps of others before you,”

Governments hailed

On behalf of the Court, the Registrar of the ICC, Mr Herman von Hebel ,yesterday applauded Ongwen’s transfer to The Hague and sought to assure the victims of the 21-year-insurgency in northern Uganda that in order to dispense justice all efforts will made to ensure that they get a lawyer who will tell their story.

He saluted “the persistent efforts” of the government of Uganda, the government of the Central African Republic, the Uganda People’s Defense Force, the African Union Regional Task Force who all put pressure on the rebels until Ongwen’s surrender.

We shall not cater for Ongwen’s children - ICC:

Ongwen’s relatives at their home in Coo-rom village in Lamgoi Sub-county.

PHOTO BY JULIUS OCUNGI

By JULIUS OCUNGI

Posted Saturday, February 7 2015

AT GULU, UGANDA.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) Field Outreach Coordinator for Kenya and Uganda, Ms Maria Mabinty Kamara, has rejected calls by relatives of indicted LRA commander Dominic Ongwen to cater for his children.

Ms Kamara was responding to a question during a press briefing in Gulu Town on Wednesday on whether the ICC would help Ongwen’s family. She said ICC can only, at an appropriate time under the rules of the court, facilitate the family to visit Ongwen at The Hague.

Ongwen is among the top five LRA commanders who were indicted by the ICC in 2005 for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Others are LRA leader Joseph Kony and his deputies: Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, and Raska Lukwiya.

Ongwen, who surrendered early last month in Central African Republic (CAR), appeared in the dock at the ICC on January 26, where seven counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes were read against him.

His relatives had earlier asked the Uganda government and ICC to cater for his children.

One of his brothers, Mr Christopher Kilama, said the family was overwhelmed with the burden of taking care of Ongwen’s four children because they have their own.

However, Ms Kamara said the ICC has a trust fund which has been providing interim assistance to victims of the LRA war but not their relatives. She said the ICC has established at least 18 projects in the region under the Victims Trust Fund.

“Over 40 million people in the region benefited from the trust fund. Some of them were provided with microfinance, prosthetic, and plastic surgery, especially for mutilated victims,” said Ms Kamara.

She said Mr Ongwen’s relatives can only be assisted to visit him at The Hague at an appropriate time.

who is ongwen?

• Said to have been abducted by LRA, aged 10, as he walked to school in northern Uganda

• Rose to become a top commander

• Accused of crimes against humanity, including enslavement

• ICC issued arrest warrant in 2005

• Rumoured to have been killed in the same year

• US offered $5m (£3.3m) reward for information leading to his arrest in 2013.

Kattikiro wa Buganda

Luther Martin Nsibirwa

In 1944-45, the British Protectorate Government, wishing to acquire mailo land for the expansion of Makerere Technical College and the establishment of a Cotton Research Station at Kawanda, dared challenge the sacrosanctity of the Uganda Agreement of 1900. The British changed one word of article15 and went on to compulsory acquire mailo land. This amendment required was from public works to public purposes.

This change was very strongly contested and was to lead to the dismissal and deportation of the Kattikiro, Samwiri Wamala, and to the assassination of his replacement Martin Luther Nsibirwa.

In order to acquire the land the legalistic British, who could have acquired the land by force, wanted a law passed by the Lukiiko of Buganda. This law was to empower the Kabaka to Acquire Land for Purposes Beneficial to the Nation. With this law in place, the Kabaka would then pass on the land acquired to the Protectorate Government. Indeed it was only time when the citizens of Buganda started to loose their lands and many of them and their grandchildren became squatters without any land ownership rights.

Beti Kamya and the Stockholm syndrome

Left to right: Kampala minister Beti Kamya, DP president general Norbert Mao, former DP president general Paul Ssemogerere and Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago at the opening of The Democratic Alliance offices in Kampala 2015. PHOTO BY ABUBAKER LUBOWA

This Article is Written By Norbert Mao:

For 18 years, Jaycee Lee Dugard was a captive of Philip Garido, her abductor. She had every chance to cry out for help or even flee from captivity. But she didn’t.

Her captor had a small business. Jaycee Lee helped run the business. She received orders via phone and emails. Sometimes she even met and greeted clients at the door - alone. But she never made the choice to escape. She even went out in public. But each time she faithfully returned to the tiny congested shed in the back of the home of the man who reportedly kidnapped her and repeatedly raped her.

Why? Carl Probyn, Jaycee’s stepfather said “Jaycee has strong feelings with this guy”. Why do victims tend to identify with those who victimise them? Is it because it keeps them alive? Is it because they think their wellbeing is embedded in the wellbeing of their tormentors? Is it about self preservation?

In January 2010 she fell out with FDC and founded the Uganda Federal Alliance becoming its first (hopefully not last) President. Her case was strong and she ran a strong campaign. As a believer in Federalism, I agreed with her that for too long many have paid nothing but lip service to federalism. I recall the day I shared a podium at the 2009 Buganda Conference at Hotel Africana. She spoke boldly about our traditional norms and urged participants not to be ashamed of tradition after all tradition and modernity can coexist.

By all counts, Beti Kamya knows what she is doing. After all she is a woman of substance. She is well-educated, articulate and knows the world of politics well.

She is now Kampala minister. And she has joined the fray with gusto. Many have speculated as to how she catapulted herself to the position. Some have even alleged that she was part of the sleeper cell embedded in the Opposition to spy for the Museveni regime.

In defence, she lambasted her critics saying she started as a child of NRM and only joined the Opposition out of disenchantment. And now she has been disenchanted by the opposition, no one knows to what extent, and that is why she has moved full circle to rejoin the NRM. She accuses the Opposition for being blind to her leadership ability and potential. She lauds Museveni for noticing her vast abilities.

Recently, in a teary-eyed emotional outburst in praise of Museveni, she just stopped short of singing Amazing Grace, namely; “I was once was lost but now I am found, was blind but now I see”. She abandoned her own presidential ambitions and declared that she would work tirelessly to ensure that Museveni wins 80 per cent in the 2021.

As infuriating as that about face is, it says something about Ms Kamya’s state of mind. She doesn’t give credit to the Opposition which gave her a platform from which she caught the eye of Museveni. Instead she seems remorseful that she didn’t see the light sooner.

That is the reason I started with the story of Jaycee Lee Dugard. Beti Kamya once called Museveni a “monster”. She now sees him as as a redeemer. What has happened? Has she lost her way the way she lost her way in the 2011 presidential campaigns ending up in Tanzania?

That is what psychologists call the Stockholm syndrome. The term Stockholm syndrome was coined in 1973. Two robbers stormed Kreditbanken in Stockholm, Sweden, and held employees hostage for about a week. In this period the hostages and their captors became very close.

They became emotionally attached and even defended them after the ordeal. The Stockholm syndrome is a “psychological response of a hostage or an individual in a similar situation in which the more dominant person has the power to put the victim’s life in danger.

Perpetrators occasionally use this advantage to get victims to comply with their demands.”

As Niccolo Machiavelli said “Men, when they receive good from whence they expect evil, feel the more indebted to their benefactor.” My advice to Kamya is that she should adjust with equanimity to her new role and station.

There is no need to fret and fume at every criticism. After all, there is a limit to how much you can defend yourself against being misunderstood by those who are bent on doing so.

mpmao@yahoo.com

'Reduce boarding schools at primary level'

Publish Date: Feb 27, 2015

Youths living in training camps being politicised in NRM ideologies.

By Alex Gahima, Clare Muhindo & David Lumu

KAMPALA - Uganda. Some Ugandan educationists have proposed to government a wide range of changes in the education system of the country, including banning boarding schools at primary level, which they say has endangered the family development of children.

Prof. Abdu Kasozi, the former executive director of the National Council for Higher Education said that if the Ugandan education system is to compete with the changing societal demands and the highly-technology driven world, a group of eminent people need to undertake a study and recommend a revised education curriculum.

the abolition of the specialization in arts and science but rather pursue a combination of subjects up to degree level

“The major aims of education in Uganda haven’t changed since the missionaries came. There is a need to re-think our education system and align it with the changing digital and other societal changes since 1986,” he said.

No respect for knowledge

Kasozi was speaking at the inaugural annual Prof. William Senteza Kajubi memorial lecture at Makerere University main hall.

Prof. Kajubi died in 2012 at the age of 86.

A 1989 report penned by the late Prof. William Senteza Kajubi was crucial for higher education reforms in Uganda. (File photo credit: Samuel Lutwama)

“Abolish the current specialisations into arts on the one side and sciences on the other, until students have completed their first degree. We are proposing that government discourages boarding schools at primary level,” said Kasozi.

‘Re-thinking Uganda’s education system’ was the theme of the lecture, and several professors and educationists in attendance seconded Kasozi’s proposals, which they said, would help re-organise Uganda’s education to the labour market.

The Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof. Mondo Kagonyera also expressed the lack of respect for knowledge as the main reason Ugandans are corrupt.

He called upon government to allow educationists to craft an education policy containing the various reforms as proposed by Kasozi for implementation.

‘Extremely concerned’

Kagonyera also called upon government to revert Kyambogo University into a polytechnic because it has failed as a university.

“I am extremely concerned about the trend which education is taking in this country. It shocks me that we have people in this country who don’t respect knowledge. Why should Government continue to blame Makerere University and other institutions for producing people who cannot create jobs yet they have not told us what kind of people they want us to produce?

“Kyambogo was meant to churn out teachers and technicians but it has failed to be a university. government should revert it to what they were supposed to do.”

The tough-talking Kagonyera however cautioned educationists not to leave education policies to politicians because they are fond of making contradictory pronouncements without carefully thinking of the impact.

He also criticized teachers’ unions for cherry-picking on salary increments rather than raising key education changes that the society needs.

‘People of ideas’

The main discussant of Kasozi’s keynote address, Dr. Ronald Bisaso, the dean of East African School of Higher Education Studies and Development, said that throughout his career as an educationist, the late Senteza Kajubi advocated for changes in the education system – a spirit that government and other stakeholders should embrace.

“People of power need people of ideas. It is a balance advanced countries have come to appreciate,” he said.

The Prof. William Senteza Kajubi memorial lecture, according to Dr. Fred Masagazi Masaazi, the Principal College of Education and External Studies, would be held every year to pay tribute to the renowned educationist.

The fallen professor is the author of the famous Kajubi Report (1989) which set the ball rolling for higher education reforms in the country.

His son, Wasswa Yoweri Kajubi, welcomed the idea of the lecture and also welcomed the proposal by Makerere University to build a lecture theatre and a foundation in memory of his father.

The lecture was attended by a number of dignitaries, including the Vice Chancellor of Makerere Prof. John Ddumba Ssentamu, former Prime Minister Prof. Apolo Nsibambi, the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Maria Kiwanuka, the Auditor General John Muwanga, former Education and Sports minister Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire, ex-DP president Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere among others.

Just after the concluded national election a Buhweju Member of Parliament is prominsing better times for a dilapidated school in the Western Province of Uganda.

Buhweju MP Francis Mwijukye addresses students studying in a dilapidated classroom at Karungu Seed Secondary School in Buhweju District at the weekend. PHOTO BY ZADOCK AMANYISA

By Zadock Amanyisa

Posted Tuesday, June 28 2016

Buhweju- Buhweju County Member of Parliament Francis Mwijukye has teamed up with teachers and parents to demand an immediate inquiry into a dilapidated school bought by government six years ago.

The legislator, after inspecting Karungu Seed Secondary School in Ntoboora B Cell, Buhweju District, in a meeting with students, parents and teachers called for calm but promised to officially petition the ministry of Education and Parliament to ensure the matter is investigated.

The school is in a sorry state and a threat to the students amid fear that it might collapse on them. The school was bought by government from eight private developers in 2010 at Shs370 million.

Mr Mwijukye told Daily Monitor at the weekend that the cost of the school is also suspicious.

“I went to the school and found students doing exams under the tree. They told me they had run away from the collapsing buildings but were advised to do exams under the tree,” he said.

The legislator wants government to order for a value-for-money audit to establish the actual cost of the school and also explain why taxi payers’ money was spent on the old building.

He warned that he will not give officials the liberty to ‘play with” the findings of the investigations since all the stakeholders, including the entire community, want an explanation.

“Ministers swear in to serve people and this is the time for the Education minister to start working and deliver. She should visit the school and establish the value for money. Procedures and necessary steps should be followed to help the suffering students and parents at the school,” the legislator said.

It is reported that Karungu Seed SS was sold to government between 2008 and 2010 but the valuers took photos of a different school to inflate the value of the school and rip-off government.

The school was started in 1999 by eight private developers. Government bought it in 2010 as part of the national plan to establish a secondary school in every sub-county.

The transaction was entered and made by the school directors, including Mr Lawrence Kamukama, Augustus Abenaitwe, Isaac Rubafunya, Vincent Gumisiriza, Evadio Katsigazi and Expedito Rukundo, then commissioner for secondary education in the ministry of Education John Agaba, Bushenyi District chief administrative officer Charles Kiberu and District Education Officer Norman Rukumu.

Pictures of a different school, believed to be Kitagata Secondary School in the neighboring Sheema District with better infrastructure, were taken and presented as purported representation of Karungu Seed SS. Government then bought the school at an apparent inflated valuation, which led to the ministry neglecting the school after finding out the rip-off.

The school had more than 450 students at the time of government takeover but the enrollment has dropped to below 300 due to the poor conditions. Stakeholders in the sub-county have petitioned several authorities but to no avail.

The United Nation must be concerned by the disturbed Post-Electoral situation in Uganda especially when political refugees from Uganda start to move out of this troubled country into Europe and the American countries again!

Written by the Observer Media Ltd.

Created: 23 February 2016

Statement from United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Political Refugees spokesperson, Cécile Pouilly, dated February 23, 2016.

We are concerned by the tense post-electoral situation in Uganda, with reports of at least two people killed and an unknown number of people injured, heavy military and police forces deployed in the streets of Kampala, and the arrests of four opposition leaders since Thursday’s elections.

Mr Kizza Besigye, leader of the FDC (Forum for Democratic Change), who was arrested and released on three different occasions last week, was placed under house arrest on Saturday without charge or judicial order. Yesterday morning, he was taken to a police station in Nagalaama, a town located some 30 kilometres from the capital Kampala, after he tried to leave his home.

Current Heavy Police Deployment on the Streets of Uganda, Kampala

Two other presidential candidates have also been reportedly arrested over the last few days. Amama Mbabazi, from the Go Forward party, has been under house arrest since Saturday, while Abed Bwanika, President of the PDP (People's Development Party), was reportedly intercepted by police on Friday at Mutukula, close to the border with Tanzania, as he was attempting to leave the country with his family. Kampala’s Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago, was also arrested on Saturday, as he was talking to the press about Mr Besigye’s arrest.

We are also concerned about the intimidating display of force used on Friday by Ugandan police and military forces to evacuate the FDC headquarters in Kampala, with tear gas and life ammunition reportedly used, and by worrying information of journalists being harassed and intimidated by security forces.

We remind the Government of Uganda of its obligations under international human rights law not to unduly restrict freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Law enforcement officials shall avoid the use of force or, when that is not possible, restrict it to the minimum extent necessary. Anyone who is arrested shall be informed of the reasons for the arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him or her.

One cannot blame this organization for such a statement. This is an International Organization that is seen too much Global Immigration of innocent victims of worn torn countries all over the world. Modern rulers of the Dictator type seem to have run out of money to spend on productive employement for their citizens as they continually invest the countries' resources in staying put in power until the end of their lives. The citizens on their part vote with their feet and move out of this social and political predicament.

One cannot blame commercial agents who deal in transporting such human suffering from point A to point B!

The Electoral Commission Chairman, Mr Badru Kiggundu, a Moslem by faith, insists that the 18 February 2016 Uganda General Election results are appropriate and the process of Election free and fair:

By Stephen Kafeero

Posted Wednesday, February 24 2016

Mr Badrani Kiggundu (EC)

Kampala. The Electoral Commission (EC) chairman, Dr Badru Kiggundu, was yesterday unwavering that the February 18 polls were credible, free and fair despite wide condemnation that the exercise did not meet minimum standards of an election.

Mr Kiggundu, who was addressing the country ahead of today’s Local Government Council elections, first reacted to what he called “distortions of information” on the manner in which the results were declared.“It is important to note that the declaration met the legal requirement of Section 57(4) of the Presidential Elections Act, which provides that a candidate shall be declared as president if he/she has obtained more than 50 per cent of the valid votes cast at the election,” Dr Kiggundu said.

He added: “The candidate who was declared as winner had obtained more than 50 per cent of the total votes cast at the election. The commission considered the fact that the difference in votes obtained by the leading candidate and first runner up would not be overturned by the votes from the remaining polling stations,” he said.

Both international and local observer missions including the African Union (AU), European Union (EU), the Commonwealth, the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) and Citizens Election Observer Network Uganda (CEON-U) queried the credibility of the electoral process raising issues surrounding voter bribery, an unlevelled playing field, late delivery of materials, intimidation and harassment, among others.

On the allegation that the EC deliberately declined to declare results from areas which support Dr Kizza Besigye, the Forum for Democratic Change candidate, Dr Kiggundu said all the results which came in at the specified tallying period were declared.

Final results Also, the EC yesterday released what it called the final tally of the presidential elections excluding 129 polling stations whose results were cancelled due to various malpractices including disruption of the voting process according to Dr Kiggundu. Some of the affected areas were Ggaba, Makindye Division and Kyebando Sub-county in Wakiso District. President Museveni, who was declared winner, had according to EC, 5,971,872 (60.62 per cent) followed by Dr Besigye with 3,508,687 (35.61 per cent) Mr Abed Bwanika of the Peoples Development Party polled 89,005 (0.90 per cent) of the valid votes cast. Independent presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi got 136,519 (1.39 per cent), Prof Venansius Baryamureeba 52,798 (0.54 per cent), Farmers Party of Uganda’s Benon Biraaro at 25,600 (0.26 per cent), Joseph Mabirizi at 24,498 (0.25 per cent) and Ms Maureen Kyalya at 42,833 (0.43 per cent).

In response to Dr Kizza Besigye who has more than once been arrested on his way to the EC to, among others, get the results for the presidential polls, Dr Kiggundu, said the FDC presidential candidate had gone about the matter in the wrong way.

“No one can come here unless they have an appointment, when you are a presidential candidate, you should lead by example for others to emulate. This is not a wedding ceremony, there is no cake here to be eaten, we are serious in what we do, so we must have respect for our operations, our institutions, but we have made available the results he wanted through his agents but I will leave it to him to try again”

The commission also dismissed reports that the weakness of the EC, especially the failure to deliver voting materials on time, could have contributed to many people not voting.

“A voter turn up of 67.61 per cent and you think that is incompetence of the EC? Even in mothers of democracy, heads of state come to office at 50 per cent. If people could be in multitudes which you were seeing on rallies, you as media why didn’t you convince them to come and vote, we think a voter turn up of 67.61 per cent is not a small one and shouldn’t be demeaned,” Mr Joseph N. Biribonwa, the deputy EC chair, said.

On alleged pre-ticked ballot papers, Mr Biribonwa said the commission was still in liaison with the police.“The matter is with the police, we are waiting for them to produce the exhibits and we ascertain whether they are our ballot papers or not. They could have been fake papers, I don’t want to say they were not ours but we are waiting for the police report to come out,” Mr Biribonwa said.

EC has also postponed the KCCA special interest group councillors elections following a court order blocking the same.

“There was an injunction which put on hold these elections by one or two of the professional groups, so we couldn’t proceed with the others but when the matter is resolved we shall hold these elections,” Mr Biribonwa said.

The lame-duck government of Uganda has been faulted on its continued relations with North Korea as it struggles to stay put in power.

The Indo-Chinese war-monger and

dictator, Mr Kim Jong

BY RISDEL KASASIRA

Posted Monday, February 29 2016

Kampala, UGANDA:

Uganda has been listed among the top five countries in the world that have defied the United Nations sanctions against North Korea and continued military cooperation with ostracised Pyongyang.

A report by the Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies, a global security think tank released last month, lists Uganda among the countries that seem not ready to cut the ties with North Korea despite UN restrictions.

“…the number of state and non-state actors purchasing arms and related services has continually dwindled since the end of the Cold War. However, Syria, Iran, Uganda, the DR Congo, Burma and Cuba have been steadfast, continuing to contract out to Pyongyang for arms and related material and services in spite of taboos and legal restrictions against doing so,” the report reads.

The report also mentions training of Uganda police in Kabalye, Masindi and the repairing of UPDF small arms in Nakasongala by North Korea as areas of cooperation that are against the UN embargo.

However, Mr James Mugume of the Foreign Affairs ministry and a permanent secretary said yesterday North Koreans were only repairing weapons bought before sanctions.

“It’s not that we are supporting proliferation of nuclear weapons. We have a lot of weapons from North Koreans which need to be serviced. We are a poor country. Should we throw away the equipment...?” Mr Mugume asked, adding “...we are engaging the UN Security Council on the issue.”

North Korea has been training police in marines and marksmanship. They also train UPDF in artillery, air defence and para trooping in Nakasongola. Mr Mugume said the North Koreans are training UPDF on how to maintain the equipment.

North Korea is currently facing new proposed sanctions pushed by China and the US last week, following its test of nuclear and the long range missile last month.

Some African countries including Tanzania have cut military ties with North Korea as pressure from the UN but the report says Uganda continues to be defiant.

“Kampala’s defiant response to recent questions [by the UN] and criticisms surrounding DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea]–Uganda co-operation is indicative of its determination to maintain strong political and probably military ties. It has explicitly said that it will not abandon its ties to North Korea as a result of sanctions or pressure from the UN,” the report says.

The National Forest Authority in Uganda has so far evicted 620 families of Ruanda descent from a forest reserve:

Kibaale District and NFA officials inspect part of the forest reserve last week.

Photo by Ronald Tumusiime.

By Ronald Tumusiime

Posted Thursday, March 31 2016

Kibaale, Western Province of Uganda:

A total of 624 families are stranded after they were evicted from Kangombe Forest Reserve in Kibaale District by the UPDF on the orders of National Forestry Authority (NFA).The eviction, which started last Wednesday, leaves more than 2,500 people homeless with those evicted now camped at Muzizi Trading Centre in Nyamarunda Sub-county. Those affected are mostly residents of Karukarungi, Buhumuliro and Baghdad villages, where encroachers, especially of Rwandan origin, have been living.

The Muzizi village chairperson Mr Emmanuel Kemerwa, said the UPDF soldiers forced out families many of whom have lived in the area for more than 10 years. “We request government to intervene since the High Court had suspended the eviction,” he said. However, the NFA sector manager for Kagadi, Mr Uzia Ndyanabo, said they could not just look on as the forest is being depleted, saying the threat on the forest had forced them to evict encroachers despite a High Court order. In 2014, High Court Judge Owiny-Dollo restrained NFA from evicting encroachers, until when the boundaries are opening up. However, the boundaries, according to affected families, have never been opened.Addressing the affected families on Monday, the Minister of Finance, Mr Matia Kasaija, questioned why the eviction had been conducted without effecting the court order. “We agreed that NFA should open up the boundaries before evicting people but now I hear even the army is inside the forest. Is that the way things are done?” he wondered. Mr George William Namyaka, the Kibaale District chairman, called for calm, saying “a solution will be found in a few days”.